Raising taxes to save money

The dispatch debate involving Ohio's Marion County & the City of Marion has produced this quote from a council member of the latter, "I can't reconcile the idea why we would raise taxes to save money." Could that ever make sense?

[Marion County Sheriff] Bailey's plan is to ask county commissioners to put on the ballot a 0.25 percent sales tax to fund the consolidation of dispatching and 9-1-1 services at First Consolidated Fire Department's station at Pole Lane Road and Ohio 309. First Consolidated has applied for a Department of Homeland Security grant of $998,000 to equip the facility. Bailey said his proposal would yearly save $850,000 for the city, $484,000 for the sheriff's office, $192,000 for Marion Township and $132,260 for the emergency management agency, which would relocate its emergency operations center to the dispatching site.

The City's plan:

[Marion] Mayor Scott Schertzer has a plan he's said would save taxpayers $144,169 per year by housing a dispatching center at the city's existing dispatching facility and hiring seven more dispatchers. The city would contract with the sheriff's office at an estimated cost of $280,000 per year, and the Marion Township Fire Department for an estimated $180,000 per year. The city's current budget for dispatching services is $721,000.

Is this sounding familiar? Even within the Civic Commons, there are conversations that are kissing cousins to this one re: the pushmepullyou of government service provision perform.

How do we resolve these situations?

Responses(1)

As municipalities and school districts continue to face budget constraints, there will be more pressure to privatize services, a panel of local officials said Monday night. "Your school secretary may be a contracted employee in the future," said Susan Baskett, an Ann Arbor school board trustee.